In Vietnam, patent protection is obtainable by way of either entering the national phase of a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application or filing a direct national application. Vietnam’s current patent rules make available three types of patent: 

(i) Patent for inventions; 
(ii) Patent for utility solutions; and 
(iii) Patent for industrial designs 

1. 法律法规：
Intellectual Property Law 50/2005 

2. 专利性标准：
A Patent for invention has to satisfy the following criteria to claim protection

•  新颖性

•  Inventive Step

•  Industrial Applicability

不可专利的主题： 

•  plant or animal varieties;

•  method for prevention, diagnosis or treatment of diseases in human being,

•  animals or plants;

•  topographical design of integrated circuits and computer programs.

实用新型
Utility Solution is protected on the basis of Patent for Utility Solution. For A Utility Solution it is not required to have an inventive step as in case of Invention. 

4. 成员资格：
√ – 巴黎公约
√ – PCT 

Vietnam is a member of the Paris Convention from 1949, whereby applications from convention countries will be subject to the same priority date in Vietnam. The application for priority has to be made within six months of the first application in a convention country. 

Vietnam is also a member of the PCT since 2006. An applicant who has made an international patent application may file and/or prosecute the patent application during its national phase entry into Vietnam within 31 months from the filing date of the international application or from the earliest priority date of the application if a priority is claimed. 

5. Eligibility:
Applicants not residing or carrying on business in Vietnam have to nominate a Vietnamese Patent agent to act on their behalf. 

6. Rule of Priority:
“First to file” is the rule followed by Vietnam in determining priority of patents. 

6. 期限：
A patent once registered is valid for a term of 20 years from the date of legitimate filing for Invention or 10 years for Utility Solution.